Tag: Game Insight »

X-Mercs: Invasion is a game about saving the world from evil aliens. And from evil mercenaries. You shoot lots of evil stuff in the face, really. You’ll slowly start to unlock new things to do as you progress, but your activities are mostly divided between four tasks: sending squads on missions, researching new technologies, manufacturing items and equipment, and building up your base of operations. If you’re looking around and thinking this sounds like a free-to-play XCOM, well, you’re not wrong. That’s totally what it is. Don’t write it off yet, however.

What really struck me is how much thought was put into these tasks and wait timers - yes, there are wait timers. Manufacturing items takes varying amounts of time, resources, and money, depending on what you’re putting together. Research follows a similar pattern, although you can only ever research something once so the initial cost is a bit higher. Of course building new structures and clearing out space also takes a certain amount of real time to finish, and should be familiar to anyone who’s played a free town builder before. Lastly there are the soldiers, who will take time to heal up if they’re wounded in combat.

I found that I really didn’t mind the waiting in this case. It’s not all that far removed from having to wait for wounded soldiers to heal or for new tech to be researched in XCOM, and in an weird way it actually works really well on a thematic level. I mean, if my shotgunner was inches from death when I extracted the team, it kind of makes sense that he’d need some time to get back into fighting shape. Severity is a factor, but in my experience heal times can take anywhere from a minute to 20. Fortunately you can also have soldiers waiting in the barracks, then put them on the team to fill any gaps and get back to fighting.

The tactical combat is also reminiscent of that other game I keep referencing, however there are only three main soldier classes and you won’t have to deal with figuring out what the rookies will eventually specialize in (although there’s technically a fourth class since any soldiers that have been KIA can be brought back as a cyborg, complete with a unique skill tree). Another key difference is that the items (just items, not equipment) you manufacture are consumable, so any one of your soldiers can chuck a grenade or two during a mission but you’ll need to remember to make more. Or you could just stockpile them like I tend to do, sine they’re really cheap to make. What’s also really interesting is that the items you need to speed up production (nanites) can be purchased using in-game currency. I’m curious to see how people will respond to such an approach.

I do have a few concerns about repetitive missions, PvP elements (I haven’t been able to try it out yet), tiny text, having trouble telling what can be tapped on in the menu and what’s just set dressing (it took me days to figure out what to tap on to access the Shop), and the ridiculous outfits and physical dimensions of the female characters, but I am currently messing around with a beta build. So who knows how much any of that may change for the final release?

Toyze, the 3D marketplace app, has signed a licensing agreement with Game Insight to offer fans the chance to own 3D figures from three of their properties: Tribez, Dragon Eternity, and Mirrors of Albion.

"Game Insight is one of the most successful players in the international mobile gaming industry and we are thrilled to give their fans the ability to bring their legendary characters to life as sharable 3D models and toys,” said Toyze CEO Vilius Rinkunas in a press release. “Our customers have already created more than 500,000 3D models and we will continue announcing more game developer partnerships as well as characters in the coming weeks and months.”

The first of the series to become available are the figures from the popular game Tribez. You'll be able to customize all seven tribesmen and share your 3D design via social media.

You can download the Toyze app for free on the App Store to start creating today.

Game Insight has released the official X-Mercs: Invasion website. The site will be releasing information about the upcoming game as it becomes available, and gives you a chance to learn about the storyline, units, and tactics.

A well informed Merc will have a leg up on the competition. X-Mercs: Invasion will be a turn-based strategy game that puts you at the head of your own military corporation fighting an invading alien force - much like XCOM.

X-Mercs: Invasion will be available for iPad and iPhone devices later this year.

Game Insight has revealed the alien enemies players will encounter in their upcoming free-to-play turn-based strategy game X-Mercs: Invasion. In defeating these enemies, players will both continue to defend their homeworld from these invaders and gather further resources to continue development of their underground military base.

The game itself is about managing a military group, and - according to the release from Game Insight - players will be able to build a team of professional fighters, study alien tech, and use their research to turn the invaders’ formidable weapons against them.

The developer promises more updates as X-Mercs: Invasion is readied for iPads.

Game Insight has announced that its hit 10v10 iPad battle saga Tank Domination now has wider compatibility within the iOS universe.

Version 1.07 allows Tank Domination to be played on iPhones (4S and newer), as well as the 5th Generation iPod Touch. The user interface has also been redesigned to further enhance the experience on these devices.

Game Insight released a new city building game from the creator of Airport City. Sky Adventures for iPad puts players in control of building a town, as well as an international travel hub that's used as both an airport and seaport. Players can build aircraft, hydroplanes, and seafaring ships while creating their city with more than 150 types of buildings. It also comes with four continents to explore, pirates to fight against, and a story to go along with it all.

Game Insight, creators of the The Tribez, have announced that they're creating a spin-off of its city-building title. The Tribez & Castlez is the name and it's expected to release sometime in early 2014. Players are tasked with building magical towers that can protect their people from evil creatures, all while discovering ancient ruins of castles, guarded dungeons, and wizard towers.

Game Insight released the first trailer for its upcoming title Running Shadow, a game that looks to mix endless running with the depth of a fantasy style RPG. The trailer takes a look at the traps, dungeons, and other environments that players will deal with while running with over 20 characters. Expect the game to release sometime in early 2014.

Game Insight has announced a new travel-themed strategy title that lets users manage a seaside resort with its own seaport. Sunshine Bay has players building a small island into a successful resort community by building lodging for guests, and dockyards for yachts and luxury liners. There are also hundreds of quests to complete while managing a wonderful island resort. Check out the trailer!

War game fans love tanks. So for the Russian game publisher and developer Game Insight, it seems only appropriate that their next title be a game all about tanks. And with their current focus on mid-core games, Tank Domination should be a perfect fit for the studio when it releases later this year.

Demoed on iPad 4 tablets, I got a chance to take part in several online multiplayer battles with other members of the media, Game Insight's US staff, and some of the devs - a look at the webcam pointed at them showed them to be focused and determined on the matches at hand.

Tank Domination is a 10-on-10 tank battling game. While Game Insight does focus on free-to-play titles, there's actual gameplay, not just hands-off simulation! Players drive a tank of their choosing around an open war zone, taking place in a dystopic near future that hopefully won't come to pass, where mercenaries settle their differences with tanks. Actually, that sounds pretty cool.

Matches are divided into two teams on opposite corners of the map. Each team must try to either take out the other team in its entirety, or to conquer their base, at least in the matches I took part in. There are four types of tanks: light, medium, heavy, and artillery. The lighter the tank, the faster it moves, but the less punishment it can take. The artillery can shoot at enemy tanks that are visible on radar, making the light tanks valuable for scouting out enemies for the heavy hitters to take on. There's text chatting supported, but the ability to partner up with friends could help out with the cooperative elements. Plus, playing with other people and laughing at them when they're destroyed is fun.

The game is classified as "mid-core," bridging the gap between the kinds of free-to-play casual games that have a wide appeal, to the kinds of traditional core games that can be inaccessible to new audiences. The controls are basic, with a single virtual stick to move (and auto-forward option) and a virtual joystick to aim the turret. While figuring out how the tank movement works may take some time, to dive in to it is pretty simple and finding games is clearly meant to be easy. This will help with finding online matches as well - the more seamless, the more populous the multiplayer. The free-to-play monetization aspects come in with currency and credits being earned to buy more shells with different stats, new tanks, and combat enhancements. How free will the game be? That remains to be seen, particularly since the game is clearly still being localized - lots of Russian text remained in the game when I tried it out!

Still, considering that Game Insight is experimenting with a game that features actual, tactical online multiplayer, it's the kind of advancement in the free-to-play business model that I want to see. There's no reason why the free-to-play model, which is here to stay, has to exclude the kinds of experiences that satisfy core gamers. Tank Domination, with plenty of tank deathmatches, should definitely be just that.